Who are Neck Deep's fans?

Last weekend, Neck Deep kicked off their Dumbstruck Dumbf!@k tour of the UK with their pals in The Wonder Years and One Step Closer. With sold-out dates spread across the country and a bill-topping set at this summer's Slam Dunk festival fast approaching, the future is very bright indeed for the homegrown pop-punk champions.

So on a cold wintry night in Manchester, we headed down to Neck Deep's jam-packed show at the O2 Victoria Warehouse to meet their fans and find out why they keep coming back for more...

How long have you been a Neck Deep fan?
Alicia: "Since like Year 9 in high school – I can't even work out how long that is. Maybe 10 years? Just under 10 years."
Daniel: "I've only been a Neck Deep fan for like two years. I got introduced by Alicia, I then started buying the vinyls. It was [the song] December that got me there though – I love that fucking song, I can't describe it. It's the best song ever."
Alicia: "It's so beautifully emotional. Me and him bonded on that moment. I told him he needed to listen to them."
Daniel: "And now I've got all their albums!"

What got you into them?
Alicia: "The lyricism – I related to it. Also they sound like how older pop-punk sounded, that blink-182 vibe, but they're current."

What would you say is your biggest pop-punk trait?
Alicia: "I'm a chef, right? Everything we do is a pop-punk trait! Everything we listen to is pop-punk, 2000s throwback. We never moved on, it is not a phase!"

What is it to be a pop-punk chef?
Daniel: "Lawlessness! I am also a pop-punk chef. I always like looking for something different!"

What other bands are you listening to?
Alicia: "Well we're going to watch Bowling For Soup, me and him."
Daniel: "Although Chris just announced his retirement!"
Alicia: "Very sad. Daniel is a bit more old-school – I'm into a lot of what's coming out now. I love Bring Me The Horizon's new album and that kind of thing, but I do love a bit of 2000s emo."
Daniel: "I love 2000s emo – so like Secondhand Serenade, My Chem..."

What are you both wearing today?
Daniel: "I'm basically just looking like a working man when I'm not. I've got this little umbrella in my hat – Alicia said to put it there and I thought, 'Why not?!'"
Alicia: "Mostly charity shop! And then we've got the Dr. Martens for the gigs! You need them or you get your feet wet."

How long have you been a Neck Deep fan?
"When did the album with A Part of Me on it come out? [Rain In July came out in in 2012] It was that song that got me. That was a big one – it was a pop-punk banger and the acoustic version slapped too."

What would you say is your biggest pop-punk trait?
"Oooh, pizza. I don't care, I fucking love pizza man. Everyone says pizza but I don't care, I love it."

What other bands are you listening to right now?
"Well I've heard of a little band called One Step Closer! My friend Liam doesn't really like them, but I think they're great and I've listened to them for years now. I've had to stop hanging out with Liam because he won't listen to them, it's really important that he'd like them but he refuses."

How about some of your favourite bands?
"The Story So Far. Dayseeker, they're pretty good right now. Turnstile. And recently I've been listening to Japanese Breakfast."

What are you wearing today?
"Oh, I've got my fly down... Top to bottom we've got the Noah hat, Supreme top, the chain, Uniqlo jeans and Air Max."

How long have you been a Neck Deep fan?
"For over a decade! There's just good pop-punk vibes coming from that scene, and it's great to see British bands doing well. I got into them when I heard the first two EPs – they were banging. But probably my best memory was going over to Riot Fest in Chicago and seeing a British band playing to that crowd. It was fucking great."

What's your biggest pop-punk trait?
"Loving Jägerbombs and shots! Let's go!"

What other bands are you listening to right now?
"I'm listening to Creeper. They're great, really cool and I love everything that they do. And I'm also listening to Hot Milk. Representing Manny! Shout out to the mandem and the galdem."

How about some of your favourite bands?
"Alkaline Trio, AFI. I've been listening to a load of hardcore recently so shout out Pain Of Truth! Shout out End It and Turnstile!"

What are you wearing today?
"The Spiritworld hat, big up! The End It T-shirt. Dungarees and then the Jordans."

How long have you been Neck Deep fans?
Meliza: "I grew up in North Wales so I've known of Neck Deep since, like, 2013."
Lauren: "We're North Wales girlies!"
Meliza: "Through the music scene in North Wales, it's very small and tightly knit – it's hard to not know about bands creeping up in that area. When bands come about you all hear about them."

What got you into Neck Deep in particular?
Meliza: "I think it was them being a pop-punk band that grew up in the same area as us. There weren't any bands in that area that were talking about the scene because it was so small – they had that pop-punk attitude of, 'I hate this town, it's so shit.'"

What would you say is your most pop-punk trait?
Meliza: "I think it's growing up in a very small town. You feel like you can't escape the small town, until you do."
Lauren: "That's what they all say in pop-punk!"
Meliza: "But when you come to a big city, you kinda realise the beauty of the small town and how it shaped you, but also set you up to explore other avenues."

Who else are you listening to at the moment?
Lauren: "Taylor Swift!"
Meliza: "Gambling With Dogs – a great band out of Stoke-on-Trent. A very small band but one of my top ones at the moment. OVERSIZE are another really good band up-and-coming right now."
Lauren: "Happydaze! They're so good."
Meliza: "Another band that comes to mind is Leash, they're pretty small and I want them to explode."

So what are you wearing?
Meliza: "Leopard print wide-leg jeans, of course! My Beauty School shirt – another great band."
Lauren: "Leeds!"
Meliza: "Yep, Leeds represent. And a leather jacket. Oh and my nails, I did these – Celestial Nails UK."
Lauren: "H&M pants, Pain Of Truth top. I'm a hardcore girlie! Denim jacket and a Dickies leopard print bag."

How long have you both been Neck Deep fans?
Jessica: "About 10 years now, since I was about 15."
Olivia: "Maybe three?"
Jessica: "I gave her the good music taste!"

What were you listening to beforehand then?
Jessica: "Pop. Shit pop."
Olivia: "No! My Chemical Romance, You Me At Six..."

What got you into Neck Deep?
Jessica: "I just love fucking pop-punk – it's so good. It's like pop music but it's got the drums, it's got the guitars. It's fucking sick. To be fair though, their last album was trash. Don't tell Ben that, though! Although you can't really go wrong with pop-punk and the vibes are off the charts."

What is it about the pop-punk scene you love so much?
Jessica: "Everyone's friendly, no matter what gig you go to. Everyone is accepting, it doesn't matter who you are or what you wear. It's just love."
Olivia: "Yeah, we're massive lesbians and we're chill here!"
Jessica: "At pop gigs you'll stand at the back and feel everyone's eyes on you, but here you just don't get that."

What other bands are you listening at the moment?
Olivia: "You Me At Six as it's the end of them being a thing. We've seen them three times in three months!"
Jessica: "We saw them February, March and April for like the 10th time."

What are you both wearing today?
Olivia: "Charli XCX, bitch! But before Brat because it's Crash. My bag is from Vinted."
Jessica: "I've just got the Malevolence T-shirt. Also everyone thinks this hat says Metallica but it says Helvetica!"

How long have you been a Neck Deep fan?
"Since [2015 album] Life's Not Out To Get You, but then I listened to some of their earlier stuff afterwards."

What was it about that album that hooked you?
"I was in a really bad spot, but then Gold Steps helped me out of it."

What other stuff are you listening to?
"Architects – I can't wait for their album and hopeful tour. Electric Callboy – I'm a big fan of that EDM/metal mix. And my friend's band Headcage!

What is it about the pop-punk scene that you really like?
"It's just a bit of a, 'Fuck you, fuck everything, I am who I am,' kinda vibe. It took me a while to come into it fully, and now I'm here I couldn't think of anything better. Everyone's great – you go to a gig on your own and it doesn't feel like you're on your own. The world is on fire but I can still enjoy my little things."

How did you get into Neck Deep?
"So they were playing at 2000trees festival in 2016 I think. They played a set and I saw them with my ex girlfriend, she was a big fan. I really enjoyed them live and jumped on the bandwagon!"

What are you wearing today?
"Dr. Martens. Some charity shop Wrangler jeans. And then the 2000trees hoodie from 2022 – it's the best festival in the UK."

How long have you all been Neck Deep fans?
Nico: "About fifteen years now."
River: "Probably about the same, I genuinely can't remember."
Flynn: "Honestly, like a year..."
Nico: "A baby fan!"

What got you into them?
Nico: "I was into blink-182 a lot when I was younger, then YouTube recommendations suggested their album. Rain In July is one of the best albums I've heard in my life."
Flynn: "I just found them on Spotify – they got recommended and I listened!"
River: "Genuinely just the natural progression of pop-punk; you just slip into it and find more bands."
Nico: "What I really like about the pop-punk scene is how The Wonder Years took Neck Deep on tour with them years ago, and now that Neck Deep have got bigger, they've brought The Wonder Years with them to introduce them to their audience."

What is it about the pop-punk that you love so much?
Nico: "It's heavily political, they stand for what I would like to think most people believe in. I think a lot of people can get behind them and I like that. They're not afraid to say what they want to say, even if people disagree. Neck Deep are deeply political and always have been. People who say they're not are completely wrong. We need more songs like We Need More Bricks right now."
River: "It's just this beautiful amalgamation of being somewhat digestible and friendly – I can play it at work and no-one is going to complain. It's very accessible. It's nice to be able to drag people into this pop-punk scene and accidentally nurture them into the scene."
Nico: "It's very much like, 'Here's some political stuff,' but you're not going to know it is until you properly listen. And hopefully by that point, the listener is on board."

What other bands are you listening to right now?
Nico: "Speed, Kublai Khan TX, Paleface Swiss. Anything hardcore. Also a little bit of The Wonder Years, Neck Deep."
Flynn: "System Of A Down, Limp Bizkit."
River: "A lot of midwest emo. So we're talking like American Football and all that sort of stuff."

And what are you wearing?
Nico: "We've got the big, big New Rocks and the big Neck Deep Honey tour hoodie. I'm pretty bog-standard."
Flynn: "A Leeds festival T-shirt, which has Neck Deep on it twice!"
River: "The DIY Primark cut-up jeans, New Rocks, and a very small designer, Italian brand hoodie – they're called Lustin Noir."

How long have you both been Neck Deep fans?
Lydia: "When I started to subscribe to Kerrang!, you'd get a free T-shirt after so many issues, and the T-shirt was Neck Deep – so I thought I should get into them then! It was when I was 14, so about 10 years ago. After that I loved them!"
Victoria: "It was in COVID, a couple of years into lockdown, and then I went to the Download Pilot festival! In Bloom was the one song I wanted to hear and they started playing it [as we were setting up our tents]. Our husbands were setting up the tents and my friend and I just ran off."

What is it that keeps you listening to them?
Lydia: "Pop-punk! There's not many pop-punk bands now. If you like pop-punk you have to go for blink-182, Sum 41, these guys."

What would you say if your biggest pop-punk trait?
Victoria: "My husband is in a pop-punk tribute band – they're called Fat Lip! They're an everything cover band though, not just Sum 41. Also my husband has been going solo and doing pop-punk acoustic – and I'm so there for it.
Lydia: "I think I've just followed it from a young age, I've always been into it, and loved meeting people like Vic and her husband. We literally met getting pissed listening to pop-punk bands at a pub."

What other bands are you listening to right now?
Victoria: "State Champs!"
Lydia: "I'm a bit all over the place. I'm obsessed with every type of music, so at the minute I really love Wunderhorse. They're so good, I saw them supporting Sam Fender, I'm obsessed. I know it's not pop-punk but I love them. I'm seeing James Blunt next week!"

What are you both wearing?
Victoria: "Primark denim shorts, H&M T-shirt I've worn for about 10 years, an All Saints leather jacket, and my New Rocks."
Lydia: "The leather jacket I got from a motorbike show, I've got Dr. Martens on, the dress is from Shein and I think my bag is KILLSTAR."